Major retailer to close first of 12 branches for good TODAY
Share:
A MAJOR retailer is set to close the first lot of 12 branches for good today. Dobbies Garden Centre announced in September they were axing a number of its locations in the run-up to Christmas. As part of a huge restructuring plan, three sites will shut-up-shop for the last time on Sunday.
![[Three of Dobbies Garden Centres are closing down today]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/d78g8r-dobbies-garden-world-restaurant-581546385.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Gloucester, King’s Lynn and Pennine stores will be the first lot to to close down. Customers at the Gloucester location said the news was "very sad". One woman wrote: "[I] went in today, really sad staff were packing things up. Dobbies will be very sadly missed.".
Another said: "Gloucester will be a ghost town soon... nothing to bring people to visit.". It comes after the process needed to be approved by the courts - with bosses given the green light this week to go ahead with the closures. A total of 10 sites will now shut, with an eleventh site in Antrim originally earmarked for closure saved.
Execs added discussions with landlords over rent reductions meant that two additional garden centres in Morpeth and Stapleton would be moved to other garden centre operators. In a statement, the firm said the move will enable Dobbies to return to "sustainable profitability and unlock access to "future investment".
A Dobbies spokesperson added: “We’re pleased to have worked constructively with landlords on the Restructuring Plan (RP). "The approval of the RP means we can now be focused on the future, building a strong platform for a return to sustainable profitability in our stores across the UK. ".
